Surrounded by
small mountains like Frenchman's Cay seen above, Soper's Hole imparts a great sense of
place and physical intimacy. At the same time, its opening to a
sea of islands stirs an alluring anticipation of coming adventure.

Turn right after
the ferry, and experience this delightful back road to Smuggler's Cove.
This road goes around the Dawson ridge you see behind the Jolly Roger, opening up rare
views from above Tortola's westernmost Steele Point. Generally
bear left down to Smuggler's Cove. Good to go for hikers, adventuresomebicyclists, and, for the
motor-advantaged, SUV rentals are available from Hertz (by the
Jolly Roger Inn) and others (see
CarRentals.com).

On the Tortola shore
are found the ferry dock and customs, the Jolly Roger Inn with its outside bar/pavilion and dinghy dock,
car rentals and popular snack bars. A nice
stretch to stroll!

Ferry
Dock. Ferries
(see schedules)
go to St.
Thomas and St. John in the U.S.V.I. as well as Road Town and "The
Valley" in the BVI. Also, the New Horizon Ferry
Service (see
schedule) and the When (494-2997)run
to Jost Van Dyke. The orange-roofed ferry/customs building is shown above
on the right

Just across from the ferry is a couple of snack
bars. The Rocky Willow Snack Bar (495-4016), popular with locals
and ferry passengers with carry out and seating, has cold drinks, beer, mixed drinks and
ample portions of tasty local food, including chicken roti,
whole wheat bread, conch and swordfish patties (baked and fried), burgers and barbecue
chicken.

Nightlife Spot

This is the place to
go for a night on the town with great live music from a
variety of local and imported Caribbean and U.S. bands on Fridays and Saturdays playing
styles from reggae to rock.

Jolly
Roger Inn.A favorite place for drinksand
meeting someone off the ferry--try bartender Omar's mango, banana
and strawberry frozen fruit punch after a long ferry ride.

Tortola Villas at Soper's
Hole has information on villas on the hillsides of Soper's
Hole as well as other areas of Tortola. Pictured is Limin' House, a fascinating villa with beautiful terraces
elegantly woven into these hillsides and affording fantastic views of
Frenchman's Cay and outlying islands.

About a mile from the ferry by land
(take two rights), it's but a short dinghy ride.

Diving.Blue Water Divers has a dive operation
with dive and snorkel trips, equipment rentals and sales, air fills, t-shirts and gifts.

Land
Touring
From the coastal road, you have arrived when you meet a collection of signs. Go straight
to stay on the Tortola shore for the ferry and the Jolly Roger Inn. Take a left to go
across the bridge to Frenchman's Cay.

Take the next right for Soper's Hole Wharf and the next left for Kelly's
and Frenchman's Cay resort.

Above Flamboyance, The Caribbean Corner Spice Shop
(495-4498) carries a variety of scented items like jams, hot sauces and
soaps as well as herbs and spices and even Cuban cigars.

Shopping TourTry parking in the little lot just behind the buildings coming in.

The shopping area is quite compact and nicely designed.

The dock along the water interconnects the whole Wharf area.

Taxis
For a taxi at Soper's Hole, call Chappy's Taxi Service (496-5960,
495-4392).

Shops.
Soper's Hole has an interesting collection of shops, mostly at The Wharf,
as well as an ATM machine.

Flamboyance

The place for upscale cosmetics
and a variety of perfumes, both women's and men's, Flamboyance (495-5946)
carries Cartier (So Pretty and Declaration), Calvin Klein (Contradiction)
and Christian Dior (Dolce Vita).

The Sea Urchin (495-4850) specializes in
island and beach wear from sandals and sun dresses to island-print shirts and
swimsuits as well as travel luggage and sun protection items like sunglasses, sunscreen
and hats and boating needs such as deck shoes, snorkeling gear, disposable cameras,
floating mattresses, seasickness pills--you name it!

Other shops include Ice
Cream Delight (495-4013) with hand-dipped ice cream, bars and
sodas, Culture Classic (495-4367) with clothing such as sarongs
in all styles, hats, shoes and various souvenirs such as mobiles and
bamboo charms, BVI
Apparel Factory Outlet (494-5511) with clothing, t-shirts, and
embroidering service, Latitude 18 with clothing and gifts,
and Pusser's Landing offers clothing,
Pusser's famous rum and nautical gifts at its company
store. Hucksters has West
Indian fine art and artifacts as well as maps, prints and gifts.

A waterfront delight, popular with
sailors, Pusser's Landing has dockside tables, live
entertainment and an outdoor bar for casual dining and drinks, including
the famous Painkiller drink

Pusser's Landing

Upstairs is open air, elegant
dining overlooking the harbour with a varied menu of local seafood, pub food, Old
English dishes like their specialty Beef Wellington and current favorites
like black bean soup.

Zenaida offers textiles like batiks,
weaves, and handpainted fabrics as well as other distinctive goods
such as scarves, sarongs and ethnic jewelry. The proprietor Vivian Jenik Helm searches
Africa, South America and India to buy these goods.

Samarkand Jewelers (495-4137)
specializes in Caribbean gemstones from Santa Domingo (such as black coral), Tortola (such
as jasper not normally in green) Dominica and other islands. A family business established
in 1971, Samarkand Jewelers makes all its own jewelry. Real local shells are made into
molds, the shell burnt out and the piece filled with gold and silver. Pendants of private
boats are made by special order. Also, they have coins from the Atocha shipwreck of 1622
in Key West. Claire, the manager, is a delightful shopkeeper in the best British
tradition.

With the entrance to Soper's Hole on its right,
Steele Point consists of dramatic rocky cliffs in front of the peak at Dawson.

Cruising Soper's Hole.A good practice coming into any anchorage is to take a slow
boat tour of the sights and check out your next water
neighborhood. In this case the route is in the shape of a large "U"
with deep water at the entrance, although there may be a tidal current of
up to 3 knots.

Motor or sail along the Tortola shore,
giving plenty of room to the busy ferry dock (it's best to dinghy into
customs). Next you'll pass the best anchoring areas in the northeast in
20-35' on a sandy bottom (much of the harbour is 60-70' deep), while leaving a traffic
lane along the shore.

Soper's
Hole Marina (VHF 16, 495-4489 email)
has moorings, docking, water ice, garbage disposal and other services for the boater.

Boat Dock TourEven if you don't charter, take a walking tour on the dock to
see these fine yachts. Soper's Hole is a most exotic
destination for charterers.

Panorama
to Bay at Frenchman's Cay

Dinghy
Adventure Take your dinghy under the low bridge
connecting Tortola to Frenchman's Cay and explore the bay beyond. Be careful of
the strong current, but don't miss the small stand of mangroves by the bridge and
along the channel. Stop at Kelly's for food or just a drink.

The drive to The Wharf along the dinghy channel has intimate views to a
thin layer of mangroves on the water side.

On around the
"U" to the far right is the narrow dinghy channel under a low bridge to the bay
beyond (as shown in the above collage). On the Frenchman's Cay shore are two long
piers with a dinghy dock in between at Pusser's Landing for Soper's Hole Wharf.
Moorings are available offshore in this area as well as off the West End Slipway, a 200
ton railway for hauling large boats up into the yard (so keep clear).

Nearby
Bay Groceries.
Kelly's Superette and Walker's Superette, within walking
distance, have groceries. Both have dinghy docks as well.

Kelly's Restaurant.
A good place for breakfast, Kelly's Restaurant
(495-4304) has local food with West Indian specials with seating inside
and out on its attractive shaded dock.

Wildlife Watching.Keep an eye out for wildlife at Soper's Hole. Herons may be seen perched on a
pier. Schools of fish churn the waters. The magnificent frigatebird
can sometimes be seen, hovering effortlessly above fisherman cleaning
their catch at the entrance to the dinghy channel. Groups of frigatebirds, the males with
their scarlet inflated throat sacs, swoop to catch thrown scraps before
they hit the water.

Pelican

Flying toward the bridge
from The Wharf side--note the long pelicanwingspan.

The name of a small,
lovely island that forms the "inland sea" shore of Soper's Hole,
Frenchman's Cay is the location of most of the activities at Soper's Hole
as well as Kelly's on the bay side and its namesake Frenchman's Cay Resort at its Channel point.

The
Clubhouse restaurant, at the Frenchman's Cay Resort (formerly
The Watermark), has an Asian/ French fusion cuisine similar to The
Dove in Road Town, its sister restaurant. Try
whelk (escargot) baked in mushroom caps with
garlic-lemon butter, Lobster Coquillage
simmered in a saffron brothandChocolate Mousse Crępes.
Also popular is the Sunday buffet and the
“Build Your Own” mojito happy hour.

Aromantic open-air setting with
stunning sea views

Land Touring At the bridge, turn left and follow the shoreline to
the tip of Frenchman's Cay to the resort and restaurant
Entrance to The Clubhouse at Frenchman's Cay